After that was over – I pulled out my sketches for the project to see where they would lead me. I love the hand stitching of the sketches but I wanted something else for the final project.

Unfortunately all of my ideas ended up rather lackluster. I was focusing on windows and it just wasn’t happening for me as I had hoped.

I did finally make 1 piece that I liked but it was a struggle – I wasn’t sure how to reproduce it.

Resistance was raising it’s ugly head (you might know it – it’s that force that stops us from doing what we want to do).

Diversions

So I stepped back and started the quilting on Portals #6.

Or at least I thought about it a lot – I was kinda stuck there also as I wanted to do something different. But I wasn’t sure what.

I procrastinated by wrapping up the finishing touches on a few other textile paintings – bindings, labels, hanging sleeves. Not the stuff of creativity but necessity.

Arg the score is now: Me – 0, Resistance – 2

And then Superstorm Sandy devastated this beloved city (interestingly my artwork from my solo show in NYC arrived home in Colorado a day after the storm hit Manhattan – hm).

I began to have doubts about pursuing this project at this time.

But I needed to do something in the studio (I’m an artist – I must make things!) so I grabbed Portals #6 and started stitching (fortunately an idea popped into my mind as I was gluing pictures of inspiring images into my sketchbook a few days back).

I’m not sure I like where I’m going with Portals #6 but that’s a thought for another post. The important thing is pushed passed the block and did something. Because just doing anything at all is better than nothing.

Score: Me – 1, Resistance – 1

The Showdown

Yesterday I was determined to go back to Postcards from NY – I promised them to the collectors that prepurchased them in November and it was time to get over it and make it happen.

I also needed to work through my feelings and decided that honoring New York City with this project is an excellent use of my time and I’ll be donating a portion of the sales to the Red Cross to help those in need.

With that settled, this morning I went straight to my studio for a showdown with resistance.

(Okay – almost straight – I did send an email to my accountability partners with my todo list for the day – with “work in studio for 1 hour on Postcards from New York” as my most important item.)

The first half hour was a slog – creating yet another windows piece that didn’t resonate with me. In desperation I cut apart one of my first attempts and in the process figured out how to create something that I liked.

Yahoo. Score: Me – 2, Resistance – 0

I’m now excited to get back to the studio to make more and the ideas are flowing again.

I win :)

Where are you facing resistance in your life? What would happen if tomorrow morning you just went ahead and took action and ignored it?

Oh, Lisa, I am glad that you gave us a little sneak peek into your struggles. And I love the beginning of your new series. And as I have pre-bought a little one, I am glad that you are on your way. I had no doubt you will succeed with it.

I think you’ve done a good job describing the inevitable “after the exhibit” downtime and subsequent resistance. I always think of the seasonal cycle: you’ve grown the crop, harvested it and now you’re in that time of quiescence, of waiting for that wonderful drive to come forth.